League Announcements

Folks, another week is almost in the books and it’s been another week of extraordinary progress. I still can’t believe it. Often, people say, why is it you love this community so much? How and why? Well, let me provide a couple examples:

1. We are the beneficiary of our first league sponsor: BARODA PIZZA owned and operated by Mr. Sam Singh. He has seen the progress and has sponsored our league with a sizable gift and for it we are tremendously grateful. Soon, we will have his sponsorship recognized at our facility. Please visit his business as many times as you can and buy as many pizzas as you can. Their address is:

Baroda Pizza Company

www.barodastore.com

9691 Cleveland Ave

Baroda, MI 49101

269.466.2000

They provide dine-in, curbside pickup, and delivery for specialty pizzas that include the Baroda Pizza House Special, Tandoori Chicken Pasta, Delights of India, Mexican Pizza, and traditional favorites such as Pepperoni, Sausage, Veggie, etc. Baroda Pizza is SWM Rec’s choice for a gameday slice.

• They say there’s this referee shortage and we’ll be lucky to have one for games. To that our SWM Rec community says ‘What referee shortage?’ have you seen our list of referees? Incredible. There was a need and our community delivered, resoundingly. Not to say we couldn’t use a few more, but shoot, we’re ahead of the curve!

• Several had voiced their thoughts on providing a Coach and Player Curriculum for each age group, and BAM! Coach U and it’s weekly newsletter. Charisma and Coach Jeni Tyler have come up with some nice guidance for each age group.

• No volunteers? That hasn’t been our issue, we’ve had the best volunteer participation I’d seen us have. So much so, we’ve been having trouble finding jobs for folks to do.

• Coach shortage? Ha, our community has stepped up to the tune of 70+ coaches!

I mean the list is endless and I could go on forever. The point that I am trying to make is that we do truly have the best folks in Michigan! Now, of course, there are areas we can improve upon, like PARKING (and leaving people room to exit on the gravel), better volunteer coordination, the uniform delay saga, and the like but all in all, one can’t help but stand back and see what a gem we have in our league. SWM Rec, I love you. Thank you for being so awesome.

Jefferson

Fall Season Highlight: For this one, it’s just a note of my appreciation to all of you for joining our league. You’ve made it special. #bestcommunityever

Friendly reminder that the Lakeshore Youth Soccer Complex (‘LYSC’) is closed today for field treatment. No practices or games are to be held. LYSC will reopen tomorrow afternoon for games and/or practices if scheduled. For any questions lemme know.

Remember to fulfill your volunteer service if you did not opt-out of volunteering. If we do not have record of your service to the league by season’s end an opt-out fee will be applied to your account.

Big shout out to those who stepped up to referee. Once a weakness is turning to an advantage in our favor thanks to Lakeshore Varsity Soccer, Coach Brian Samuel, The Derek and Jeni Tyler Family, Mark Smith, Sr. Varsity Players – Justin Hafling, John Emerson, Connor White, and Rachel Needles. So, while others are looking, we look to have ; ). We still need mo though! Please sign up if you can.

Jefferson

Fall Season Highlight: The Tyler family has stepped up in a big way this season. Once passionate fans on the sidelines, now integral parts to making this league the best in Soccer league in SW Michigan.. Last call, Hail Mary, Prescott touchdown, ayy (yeah) …

An infantry of armyworms is on the march, turning lawns—as well as soccer fields—into battlefields of dead grass.

“They can easily munch their way through whatever, whether it’s a lawn or a park or a golf course,” Eric Rebek, an Oklahoma State University entomologist, tells Christine Fernando of USA Today. “They just lay waste to everything in their path, moving through just like an army on the move.”

Therefore, Lincoln Charter Township will treat the LYSC Fields, Monday, September 13th. To ensure your safety from the spodoptera larvae and the solution used to remove them, we will close the facility. After treatment is applied, we can return to play safely for the afternoon of Tuesday, September 14th.

So, no practices or games on Monday, September 13th. For any questions, let us know.

Jefferson

Well, so much for the smooth flight nonsense I sent last week, we’ve got a little turbulence here. So, as Charisma (aka Coach/Director Brubaker) had communicated on August 20^th, due to the ongoing labor shortage with our vendor, we are STILL waiting for those hard earned, stylish SWM Rec Soccer Uni’s.

Again, we are very very sorry for the inconvenience. We have done everything possible to have them speed up the process, but it is fully out of our hands at the moment. Until jerseys arrive, please continue to wear the uniforms as you have. Thank you again for your patience in this regard. Sincerely.

With that, and how we know how much uniforms mean for pictures this is likely to impact our scheduled photo shoot scheduled September 11^th. As soon as we have confirmation on a postponement, we will let you know.

Now, enough of the turbulence talk to more of the good news I like focus on: Referees, SWM Rec Coach U, Lincoln Charter Township Fire Department Fund Raiser for 9/11.

Referees – As we noted to you in prior communication there’s a massive shortage across all sports for gameday officials. Well, thanks to some of the kind folks in our league and the partnership we have with Lakeshore’s Varsity Soccer Coach and Team, we’ll have our own referee supply. Similar to our friends over at LRF, we’ll looking to include these students in our community to help officiate games. They have my support in calling the games as they see fit and know that our community will welcome them with wide open arms. Check them out HERE.

SWM Rec Coach U – Big shout outs to Lakeshore Varsity Coach Brian Samuel, St. Joseph Junior Varsity Coach Colin Uren, Charisma, Coach Sorensen, Coach Stevens for helping the Coaches we have on staff. Additionally, we have attached the first edition of the Weekly Newsletter for Coaches. Our goal is to provide free  content in future weeks, that will include links to favorite drill, games, warm-ups, etc. We want to provide our Coaching Staff with all the tools necessary help them with process of being a Coach and developing competent, stellar soccer studs.

LCT Fire Department 9/11 Fund Raiser – We are proud supporters of LCT Police and Fire Department and have partnered with both. The Fire Department is putting together a 9/11 remembrance and fundraiser event on 9/11. The department is working to raise money to build a Firefighter Memorial at our local cemetery. They will use LYSC as the location starting at 7:00pm. They plan to sell hotdogs and conclude with a firework display. Please attend if you can.

As always, I love you and couldn’t be more proud of what we have all built together. We’re fastly becoming the Rec Soccer League of choice in SW Michigan, thanks to all of you. For any questions, please reach out.

Jefferson

Lakeshore Varsity Men’s Soccer Senior Night and Youth Night @ the Mark Lehmann Memorial Field @ 6PM

The Lakeshore High School Men’s Soccer Teams are hosting their annual youth soccer night on Thursday, September 23rd at Mark Lehmann Memorial Field. The Lancers will be hosting Mattawan in one JV game beginning at 5:00 PM and one Varsity game beginning at 6:30 PM.

All elementary and middle school aged children who are wearing their own soccer team jerseys will have free entry into the game. Also, your child will have an opportunity to walk on to the field with both of the varsity teams to stand during team introductions and the National Anthem! We will begin lining up near the stairs that lead to the field on the Lancer side at 6:15 PM for this special part of the evening. 

There will be soccer promotional items thrown out at half time of the Varsity game and $1 hotdog coupon given to all Lakehore students. Purchase before halftime of the Varsity game & you will be entered in a drawing to win a Lakeshore Soccer Spirit Wear item.  

We will also be honoring our senior players before the game, so be at the stadium by 6:00 PM to cheer on your Senior Lancers! Please come join us and support your Lakeshore Soccer Programs!

Thank you! 

Dawn Smith 

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to the SWM Rec Fall 2021 season, non-stop from August 28th to October 30th. The weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have a smooth, exciting season. Now sit back and relax. Minus a referee shortage and late uniforms, couldn’t be happier with how things have gone. Just a few highlights to note:

• 2^nd SWM Rec Coach U event is tonight at the LYSC – Picnic Area Under the Trees, 6pm to 7pm. Coaches, if you did not have a chance to attend the one held 8/25, this is your chance to hear other SWM Rec Coaches provide advice, helpful tips, and things to expect this season. Please join us if you missed the first.
• We opened Lakeshore Eats (Concession Stand) for the first time with the help of Krystal Lockman and her Family. If you have a chance to stop by, please do. We expect it to be open Gamedays, though if there is a shortage of Volunteers this may not be possible. So please remember to volunteer if you did not Opt-Out. Remember our Concession Stand is credit card or debit card only.
• To date we have had great Volunteer participation! Best in a long while, much appreciation to all of those who’ve chipped in their time and effort. Keep it Up!
• Despite the delay in uniform delivery, several families have come up with creative solutions to get by and identify their teams. For example, Coach Dimeko Price had homemade jerseys to help identify his team for gameday. Great job Coach!
• We’ve had a few Coaches take advantage of their option to reschedule games to accommodate families and be relieved of the heat! Completely okay and expected. Thank you for exercising your benefit as Head Coach.
• All but 51% of our Teams have registered Assistant Coaches! Excellent! We do still need to have at least one Assistant Coach per Team. For those that do not have one, please get one registered. This is very important, as the success of our league is all dependent on our Coaching Staff.
• Coach Jen Morales has stepped up to lead uniform distribution. As details come about, we will be sure to communicate these to you. Uniform delivery is tentatively scheduled for 9/10.
• Remember to check out and attend our Lakeshore Varsity Soccer and Football games. Any youth player in our league is welcome to join the Soccer Varsity team on the field so long as they wear their SWM Rec Jersey. Home games to attend 9/1, 9/7, 9/16, 9/21, and 9/24. Go root on the Lancers and Coach Brian Samuel and Coach Danny Thompson!

There are a few more highlights that I will mention in the upcoming days, but these were just a few. On another note, we are in desperate need of Referees for our U10, U12, and U14 games. If you know of anyone interested, please forward them to me. Referees will be paid AND we will pay for them to be trained. For more information click HERE.

Finally, if you did not ‘Opt Out’ of volunteering in your registration, you are expected to volunteer your time to help our league prosper. Please look at the Volunteer Schedule to find a service task, date, and time amicable with your schedule and let us know when we can expect you. For if we do not have record of your service to the league and you did not ‘Opt Out’, we will apply the ‘Opt Out’ fee to your registration account by season’s end. For a list of volunteer options, dates, and times click HERE.

For a list of housekeeping items, you may be interested in, see below:

1. Rosters – Coaches, please reference your GotSport account for your current roster and roster contact information by clicking HERE. This is your source of truth.
2. Parking Information – Click HERE.
3. All Coaches – PLEASE Complete your Trainings by clicking HERE.
4. Assistant Coaches – Register HERE.
5. Live Office Hours – Visit our homepage at www.swmrec.com
6. Uniforms Updates – Click HERE.
7. Picture Dates – Click HERE.

Jefferson

Ladies and Gentlemen kick off is less than 24 hours away! All of our planning, preparation, practice, effort, communication, leads up to this. Tomorrow is why we do, what we do. Like my Director of Coach Development says, these games are for YOU. Remember to keep our events fun, lest we fall to the bowels of dread with over competitiveness, chair throwing, kicking the dirt, screaming, etc. Yes, I am sure some of you who know me, are thinking that that SWM Rec guy named Jefferson is one of the most overly competitive ones out there ‘who is he kidding?’. This is true; however, I’ve learned to channel that drive to a level that is slightly below the level of ridiculousness.

Remember, that we ALL are on the same team out there. Please have fun and let me know how it goes. My hope is that tomorrow is ever bit as victorious for our league as it was for our Lancer Football team last night against Portage Central. Seeing those golden rainbows thrown by Korfmacher Jr. almost brought a tear to my eye, oh so similar to how the ball flies through the air at the Palace on the Prairie. Congrats to Lakeshore and Coach Danny Thompson on a stupendous first game. Can’t wait for the next!

See below for a list of housekeeping items you may have an interest in:

1. Lakeshore Eats Training (Concession Stand) – To be on Friday, August 27^th, 6pm to 7pm, at the LYSC – Concession Stand.
2. Rosters – Coaches, please reference your GotSport account for your current roster and roster contact information by clicking HERE. This is your source of truth, NOT, excel sheets previously distributed.
3. Parking Information – Click HERE.
4. All Coaches – Complete your Trainings by clicking HERE.
5. Assistant Coaches – Register HERE.
6. Weather Policy – Click HERE.
7. Home and Away Colors – Click HERE.
8. Gameday Schedule – Click HERE.
9. Gameday Format – Click HERE.
10. Practice Field Reservations – Click HERE.
11. Skipping this number for obvious reasons.
12. Live Office Hours – Visit our homepage at www.swmrec.com
13.  
14. Uniforms Updates – Click HERE.
15. Volunteers Duty – Please remember to check our volunteer task list for the dates you are responsible to attend. Please click HERE for the schedule.
16. Picture Dates – Click HERE.

I love you.

Jefferson

Fall Season Highlight: Mr. Charisma ‘Ryan Brubaker’ volunteered his time, without prompt or request and took the initiative to line fields this week. In the blazing heat I might add. It was not his volunteer task, item to address, not his Coaching responsibility, or any of that. He just did it! Words cannot express the appreciation we have for his contribution. Please tell him thank you when you see him. #selfless#humble#inspiring

Happy Hump Day to all of you. Opening day for this Fall season is only three days away. With that, I wanted to take a moment to recognize those folks who have decided to make SWM Rec Soccer a league of their own. Please click HERE for those who have helped lead our organization into what it is and what it will be.

We have been very fortunate to have several come forward to serve each of you, free of charge, to provide you with a unique fall soccer experience. With all of the hustle and bustle we forget sometimes that every coach and league administrator has volunteered their time for free, and that they too have lives of their own to pay mind to.

Please keep this in mind, when making demands and or requests. We appreciate your patience in this regard and firmly believe you will enjoy your experience with us. Please see below for a list of housekeeping items you may want more information on:

1. Weather Policy – For information pertaining to Cancellations, Heat Advisories, etc., please refer to the following link on our website by clicking HERE.
2. Home and Away Colors – Red is for home teams; Black is for away teams. Click HERE.
3. Official Training (Game Referees AND Coaches) – To be held on Wednesday, August 25^th, at the LYSC – Picnic Area Under the Trees, 6pm to 7pm. This is for those volunteers that have been assigned the task of Gameday Official Duty. This is also available for anyone who would like to learn more about the rules of play. Coaches and parents are welcome to attend. WE ARE IN NEED OF OFFICIALS SO IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER FOR THIS TASK, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
4. Lakeshore Eats Training (Concession Stand) – To be on Friday, August 27^th, 6pm to 7pm, at the LYSC – Concession Stand. This is for those volunteers that have been assigned the volunteer task of Concession Stand this season. Please attend for a demonstration of our new point of sale system.
5. Parking – As you can tell our new parking lot has been completed and we have made special arrangements to ensure our folks with handicap parking needs have been accommodated. For more information about the approved areas for parking, you can do this by clicking HERE.
6. Opening Day – Kicks Off, August 28^th, at the LYSC, 12pm. You can view your game schedule by clicking HERE.
7. Gameday Format – For game length for each age group this can be found by clicking HERE.
8. Rosters – All roster moves and requests have been processed and should be reflected within GotSport. Please reference your GotSport account for your current roster and roster contact information by clicking HERE.
9. Parents – All Coaches should have reached out to their teams and introduced themselves by now, if they haven’t please let me know.
10. Assistant Coaches – Remember, that we are asking for a family member from each team to come forward to volunteer as an Assistant Coach, if one has not already done so. Please register by clicking HERE.
11. All Coaches – Coaches, please remember to complete your trainings. You can find instructions on how to do this by clicking HERE.
12. Practice – Reserve your Practice Field today by clicking HERE.
13. Skipping this number for obvious reasons.
14. Office Hours – Remember that we have live Office Hours this week. These are intended for anyone with questions, where they’d like to speak with someone, or have a hand with whatever question they may have. Anything from GotSport, Volunteering, Teams, etc. In the event no one joins we will end the session after 15 minutes. The times are:
    1. Coaches Only Office Hours, Thursday, August 26^th, 8pm to 9pm, via Google Meet (Button on our Homepage will take you to the meeting) or by clicking HERE.
    2. Tuesday, August 31^st, 8pm to 9pm, via Google Meet (Button on our Homepage will take you to the meeting) or by clicking HERE.
15. Uniforms – Scheduled for delivery September 10^th. As updates from our vendor come in, we will post to you all.
16. Volunteers – Please remember to check our volunteer task list for the dates you are responsible to attend. Please click HERE for the schedule.
17. Pictures – Are scheduled for September 11^th and 12^th. Times will be communicated to you shortly and posted on our website at www.swmrec.com.

I love you all. Please send me anything you would like mentioned in our next fall season announcement.

Jefferson

Fall Season Highlight: Coaches Jennifer Morales and Jennifer Sorensen took advantage of our new Office Hours and had answered questions they’d had. They also took the opportunity to make suggestions to help improve the league we have. Each are on deck to impart their wisdom to our community in our SWM Rec Coach U training scheduled for September 2^nd. Excellent job ladies!!!

Good day to you all, the first game is only 5 days away and I wanted to send you a few reminders about the events this week. They are as follows:

1. Rosters – All roster moves and requests have been processed and should be reflected within GotSport. The trade deadline has passed Coaches. Please reference your GotSport account for your current roster and roster contact information by clicking HERE.
2. Parents – All Coaches should have reached out to their teams and introduced themselves by now, if they haven’t please let me know.
3. Assistant Coaches – Remember, that we are asking for a family member from each team to come forward to volunteer as an Assistant Coach, if one has not already done so. Please register by clicking HERE.
4. All Coaches – Coaches, please remember to complete your trainings. You can find instructions on how to do this by clicking HERE.
5. Practice – Several teams have taken advantage of our newly added pre-season practice time and we encourage other teams to take advantage if you have not had the opportunity. Reserve your Practice Field today by clicking HERE.
6. Office Hours – Remember that we have live Office Hours this week. These are intended for anyone with questions, where they’d like to speak with someone, or have a hand with whatever question they may have. Anything from GotSport, Volunteering, Teams, etc. The times are:
   1. Tuesday, August 24^th, 8pm to 9pm, via Google Meet (Button on our Homepage will take you to the meeting)
   1. Coaches Only Office Hours, Thursday, August 26^th, 8pm to 9pm, via Google Meet (Button on our Homepage will take you to the meeting)
7. Official Training (Game Referees) – To be held on Wednesday, August 25^th, at the LYSC – Picnic Area Under the Trees, 6pm to 7pm. This is for those volunteers that have been assigned the task of Gameday Official Duty. This is also available for anyone who would like to learn more about the rules of play. Coaches and parents are welcome to attend.
8. Lakeshore Eats Training (Concession Stand) – To be on Friday, August 27^th, 6pm to 7pm, at the LYSC – Concession Stand. This is for those volunteers that have been assigned the volunteer task of Concession Stand this season. Please attend for a demonstration of our new point of sale system.
9. Opening Day – Kicks Off, August 28^th, at the LYSC, 12pm. You can view your game schedule by clicking HERE.
10. Gameday Format – For game length for each age group this can be found by clicking HERE.
11. Parking – As you can tell our new parking lot has been completed and we have made special arrangements to ensure our folks with handicap parking needs have been accommodated. For more information about the approved areas for parking, you can do this by clicking HERE.
12. Uniforms – Scheduled for delivery September 10^th. As updates from our vendor come in, we will post to you all.
13. Skipping this number for obvious reasons.
14. Volunteers – Please remember to check our volunteer task list for the dates you are responsible to attend. Please click HERE for the schedule.
15. Pictures – Are scheduled for September 11^th and 12^th. Times will be communicated to you shortly and posted on our website at www.swmrec.com.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten to mention something here, so please send me a note and I’ll remember it for the next announcement. Remember too, that all of this information is available and posted to our website at www.swmrec.com, prior to dissemination to you in email. Please check frequently for any updates or questions you might have.

As always, I love you and welcome any email inquiries you might have.

Jefferson

Fall Season Highlight: Coaches and SWM Rec Coach Alum provided a training at our first SWM Rec Coach U event last Wednesday. BIG SHOUT out to Douglas DeCamp, Brittany Dunham, Daniel Crowder, Jake Pschigoda, Jasmine Van Dusen, Ryan Brubaker, Jon Punches, and Mark Stevens, and the 30 or so folks in attendance. Our Coaching family above provided content on their Coaching prowesses and the coaching wizardry they thought were important for other Coaches to consider. Phenomenal job Coaches!!!

Hey SWM Rec Family,   It’s hard to believe we officially kick off the fall season in just a few days! We are beyond excited for an incredible season with you all. But first, we wanted to give you updates on two important events:   

1. Jersey Pickups
2. Picture Day

Jersey Pickups: The jersey pickup that was scheduled for tomorrow is CANCELLED! Unfortunately, due to labor shortages in the production company, our jerseys will not be ready until the first week of September. We will notify you of the rescheduled pickup date for the jerseys as soon as we are told the exact date that they will be ready. We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience. We have done everything possible to have them speed up the process, but it is fully out of our hands. Until the jerseys arrive, players can wear either a red or black t-shirts, or their previous season’s SWM Rec jerseys. The coaches will let you know which color you are for each game. Thank you all for demonstrating such great patience! We will get those to you as soon as possible.  

Picture Day: Picture day is scheduled for September 11th. As of right now, the exact times have not been worked out with Capture Studios, but go ahead and mark that date on your calendar! Your coach will notify your team of which color to wear for the team pictures.

Ryan and Lisha Brubaker